Radiohead, Beyoncé, and Kendrick Lamar are among the headliners at this year’s Coachella music festival in Indio, California, but in a year when human rights and global stability feel particularly threatened, those behind the festival are getting some extra scrutiny.
— Coachella (@coachella) January 3, 2017
Coachella falls under the umbrella of AEG, owned by Philip Anschutz. And Anschutz is not one of the good guys. He’s a contributor to anti-LGBT hate groups, Uproxx reports:
According to The Washington Post, Anschutz has donated some of his considerable wealth to anti-LGBT groups like Alliance Defending Freedom, National Christian Foundation and Family Research Council, three groups that seek to push back against gains made by LGBT people using lawsuits and lobbying.
“Phil Anschutz’s extensive influence in Colorado politics has been known for years, but the degree of his support for anti-LGBTQ groups that fund extremist hate groups like Gordon Kligenschmitt’s ‘Pray in Jesus Name’ is shocking,” said ProgressNow Colorado executive director Ian Silverii in a press release. “At a time in American history when discrimination and violence against LGBTQ citizens is on the rise, support for pro-discrimination groups puts Anschutz on the wrong side of Colorado, and on the wrong side of history.”
On top of that, he’s supported the cause of climate change denial through his foundation. According to Greenpeace, he meets twice annually with the Koch brothers at their “strategy meetings.”
Think twice if Coachella is where you want to spend your music festival money this year.
